At the start of the 19th century, Saint-Léger-des-Vignes was a commercial and active town due to its geographical location: located at the zero point of the Nivernais canal and bordered by the Loire and Aron.
Its raw materials and its industries: wood, gypsum, plaster factory, but above all glass making bottles of Champagne, but also those of its neighboring municipalities will be an important element for the dynamics of its ports of Charbonnière and Saint Thibault. The latter now welcomes tourist boats leaving to explore the Nivernais canal.
The dam was built in 1836 to raise the level of the bed of the Loire and thus facilitate navigation.
